1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid control device for controlling spreading and vaporization of a liquid in contact with a surface, and a mesh-like body assembly applied to the liquid control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among the liquid control devices of this type, there is the liquid control device in which a mesh (a mesh-like body) is placed on the upper surface of a heat storage plate to form minute projections and depressions on the heat storage plate (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Gazette No. 4673449). According to the liquid control device described in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 4673449, a liquid supplied between the upper surface (a liquid-supplied surface) of the heat storage plate (a main body) and the mesh spreads by interfacial tension, and hence it is possible to supply the liquid in the large area of the upper surface of the heat storage plate. Subsequently, the heat storage plate is heated by a heater, and the liquid on the upper surface of the heat storage plate is vaporized.
Incidentally, in the liquid control device described in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 4673449, the mesh is pushed against the upper surface of the heat storage plate by the tips of a plurality of pins disposed at a predetermined pitch. Accordingly, the degree of intimate contact of the mesh with the upper surface of the heat storage plate differs between the portion of the mesh that is pushed by the tip of the pin and the portion of the mesh that is not pushed by the tip. As a result, the liquid spreading over the upper surface of the heat storage plate may become uneven and the vaporization of the liquid may become unstable.